PENN/Villanova/Drexel Grads - some perspective, please?

Hi all -

The Philadelphia area is fortunate to have some great schools, and I'm thinking I will apply to PENN, Villanova, and Drexel. I've looked through each school's website extensivly, and was hopeful that some graduates of these programs could provide insight on their experience.

From the sites, I've the impression that PENN gives the strongest clinical experience. Having been to an open house at the school, PENN seems ULTRA dedicated to truly advancing the science of nursing. The environment seems like a great one to learn in - a place where you're mentored by the leaders of the field. That said - their programs is 24 months - [i]24 months[i] - and that seems like an inadequate amount of time to take in the material efficiently. Also, I've heard (on this board) that they pressure their students to do research while in school and publish papers, as well as allowing for only 2 or 4 days off in the two years. Can anyone speak to learning in this environment, under that additional pressure?

Drexel seems ahead of the curve in distance and online learning, which is beneficial to me since I'm from that generation that lives on computers. I've talked to students who seem really impressed with the program - but I can't find much commentary online about the quality of the program. In addition, they offer little information about their staff. Seems like a good place, but perhaps not as good as PENN.

Villanova also seems like a quality program, and while not having PENN's reputation or Drexel's technology, I've been told from many students that Nova runs a quality program. One element that was unique on their website was their frequent mentioning of their anesthesia program's relationship to the Augustinian mission of the university, and that appealed to me. Of course, philosophy won't help me much when my patient is coding. .

Each seem to be great programs, with PENN advertising themselves as a step ahead of the rest. If you're a graduate or a student, can you give some insight on your experience?

Thanks a lot!!